When I found out I was going to be a mommy; I wanted to plan absolutely everything! I wanted to do it right and raise a good/ easy going kid... I wanted a happy baby, a good sleeper (for their sake and for ours)! I wanted to be able to make noise in our home and live pretty normally... like we did before the tiny human! Well some things changed but Im happy to say we actually did manage to stick to our plans in most cases!
From day 1 at the hospital Patrick and I were pretty chill... we were open to learning as we went... the nurses and doctors saw that in us and they said time and time again that Grace was a really laid back baby 'cause we were laid back parents! Grace didn't even cry getting the dreaded "heel prick"! She's still that way! She rarely ever cries.
Once we brought little G home, we had loads of family, it was Christmas and then a Cpl. family emergency's 1./ My 85 year old nan fell and broke her hip (she's doing quite well now)!
2./ Patrick actually came down with a pretty severe case of the shingles (super dangerous for a newborn to be around). We weathered the storm and I'm proud to say I only had 2 break-downs in my new mom hormonal state! As I said in my last post Grace was born on a Saturday morning, I showed my first property on Tuesday evening- a property that I went on to sell and close! Busy/ crazy times! We just maintained a sense of humour through it all and didn't put too much pressure on ourselves to get everything right and be perfect!
Since bringing little G home we've discovered a few things that really worked for us- these things might work for you too!
1./ "On Becoming Babywise" an awesome book. Go out and get it! It talks about getting your baby on a schedule; we didn't stick to every little detail but it really helped. tiny.cc/Sherryblog
2./ #fedisbest We fed Grace till she was full. full stop. She was/ is a formula fed baby. After speaking to our health care provider, we made the decision not to stick to the guidelines for feeding; they just weren't working for us. Grace was a hungry baby! She still is!
3./ Due to Grace contracting bronchiolitis on day 27 we kept her in our room for the first 2 months; we originally intended to keep her in for the first month only. When we put her in her own room, we installed black out blinds right away so we controlled the daylight and darkness! We used a normal camera/mic baby monitor to see Grace and for my sanity's sake the Owlet smart sock- best baby monitor EVER! tiny.cc/sherryblog2
4./ Grace was a really gassy baby; she also had reflux; because of that we went with Dr. Browns bottles... I'm not sure we'd choose to go that route again. We found the flow to be really fast and after the first few weeks had to go backwards from the stage 1 to the preemie nipples... even now, Grace is only on #2 (we will be incorporating stage 3's shortly).
5./ Halo sleep sacs! Man was I ever a pro-swaddling momma but it just did not work for us. Grace was having no part of it! Soooo all those sweet swaddling blankets I had purchased and the cute little swaddle sacs went out the door and we started using the Halo brand... it still had the swaddle pieces in place but we snuggled them around her torso vs. pinning her arms in= success tiny.cc/sherryblog3
6./ We purchased ALOT of things 2nd hand. Something that I didn't forsee us doing originally but I'm all for it now! We obviously purchased new items for little G too and she had loads given to her but baby's really don't hurt things so there were chairs, swings, toys, clothes and other things that I purchased from other momma's; I then cleaned and gently used with Grace & we've since gifted or re-sold many of the items a 2nd time to yet another family! I love it- reduce, re-use, recycle!
7. Our other favourite baby related items to date:
A./ Gerber pre- fold diapers (not for diapering but for burping). Grace spit up like it was her job- these SAVED us! We still use them! Not as much, thank goodness but theres always one being used somewhere in the house. tiny.cc/sherryblog4
B./ Tommy Tippee comfi neck bibs. These guys keep your little one clean & looking their best! Grace went through ALOT of bibs- like several a day! tiny.cc/sherryblog5
C./ For a stroller we use the Baby jogger city select; I have to say I'm super happy with it but disclaimer right here: it is heavy! We use it in combination with Graco click connect infant car seat (we purchased the adaptors for our stroller, they pop in and out really easily so Grace can use her normal stroller seat sometimes too when we are out and about! The City Select from what I understand works with a lot of different car seats. While it is heavy it can take a beating! We have travelled, provincially, nationally and internationally with this thing; it can carry a load of Costco groceries underneath the seat and its great for "off-roading" if you are so inclined! tiny.cc/sherryblog6
D./ We don't use it anymore since Grace decided she likes cold milk better (I know super weird) BUT we loved it while it lasted- the Baby Brezza Formula Pro. Basically its a baby keurig; that thing was stroke of genius! I'm still looking for a link for this bad boy; I'll post it when I do.
E./ Frida Baby Snot Sucker. Im not being gross; its the actual name! I followed the advice of another mom on You Tube and we have used this thing many times with only 1 epic fail- the time we forgot to pop a new filter in!!! (sorry Patrick)!!! tiny.cc/sherryblog8
Having a baby has been super fun! The first cpl months were a bit challenging, like any new parents we were learning the ropes, sleep deprived and doubting ourselves every other day but we just listened to our gut AND our baby in most cases and I'm happy to report we are all still alive and well! Grace will be 10 months old on Oct 1! Where oh where does the time go?!
Happy parenting y'all! Feel free to leave comments/ ask questions! I'm always happy to respond!